Yang Ho wished to see Confucius, but Confucius would not go to see him. Onthis, he sent a present of a pig to Confucius, who, having chosen a timewhen Ho was not at home went to pay his respects for the gift. He met him,however, on the way.
Ho said to Confucius, "Come, let me speak with you." He then asked, "Can hebe called benevolent who keeps his jewel in his bosom, and leaves hiscountry to confusion?" Confucius replied, "No." "Can he be called wise, whois anxious to be engaged in public employment, and yet is constantly losingthe opportunity of being so?" Confucius again said, "No." "The days andmonths are passing away; the years do not wait for us." Confucius said,"Right; I will go into office."The Master said, "By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get tobe wide apart."The Master said, "There are only the wise of the highest class, and thestupid of the lowest class, who cannot be changed."The Master, having come to Wu-ch'ang, heard there the sound of stringedinstruments and singing.
Well pleased and smiling, he said, "Why use an ox knife to kill a fowl?"Tsze-yu replied, "Formerly, Master, I heard you say,-'When the man of highstation is well instructed, he loves men; when the man of low station iswell instructed, he is easily ruled.'"The Master said, "My disciples, Yen's words are right. What I said was onlyin sport."Kung-shan Fu-zao, when he was holding Pi, and in an attitude of rebellion,invited the Master to visit him, who was rather inclined to go.
Tsze-lu was displeased. and said, "Indeed, you cannot go! Why must youthink of going to see Kung-shan?"The Master said, "Can it be without some reason that he has invited ME? Ifany one employ me, may I not make an eastern Chau?"Tsze-chang asked Confucius about perfect virtue. Confucius said, "To beable to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfectvirtue." He begged to ask what they were, and was told, "Gravity,generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. If you are grave,you will not be treated with disrespect. If you are generous, you will winall. If you are sincere, people will repose trust in you. If you areearnest, you will accomplish much. If you are kind, this will enable you toemploy the services of others.
Pi Hsi inviting him to visit him, the Master was inclined to go.
Tsze-lu said, "Master, formerly I have heard you say, 'When a man in hisown person is guilty of doing evil, a superior man will not associate withhim.' Pi Hsi is in rebellion, holding possession of Chung-mau; if you go tohim, what shall be said?"The Master said, "Yes, I did use these words. But is it not said, that, ifa thing be really hard, it may be ground without being made thin? Is it notsaid, that, if a thing be really white, it may be steeped in a dark fluidwithout being made black?
"Am I a bitter gourd? How can I be hung up out of the way of being eaten?"The Master said, "Yu, have you heard the six words to which are attachedsix becloudings?" Yu replied, "I have not.""Sit down, and I will tell them to you.
"There is the love of being benevolent without the love of learning;-thebeclouding here leads to a foolish simplicity. There is the love of knowingwithout the love of learning;-the beclouding here leads to dissipation ofmind. There is the love of being sincere without the love of learning;-thebeclouding here leads to an injurious disregard of consequences. There isthe love of straightforwardness without the love of learning;-thebeclouding here leads to rudeness. There is the love of boldness withoutthe love of learning;-the beclouding here leads to insubordination. Thereis the love of firmness without the love of learning;-the beclouding hereleads to extravagant conduct."The Master said, "My children, why do you not study the Book of Poetry?
"The Odes serve to stimulate the mind.
"They may be used for purposes of self-contemplation.
"They teach the art of sociability.
"They show how to regulate feelings of resentment.
"From them you learn the more immediate duty of serving one's father, andthe remoter one of serving one's prince.
"From them we become largely acquainted with the names of birds, beasts,and plants."The Master said to Po-yu, "Do you give yourself to the Chau-nan and theShao-nan. The man who has not studied the Chau-nan and the Shao-nan is likeone who stands with his face right against a wall. Is he not so?" TheMaster said, "'It is according to the rules of propriety,' they say.-'It isaccording to the rules of propriety,' they say. Are gems and silk all thatis meant by propriety? 'It is music,' they say.-'It is music,' they say.
Are hers and drums all that is meant by music?"The Master said, "He who puts on an appearance of stern firmness, whileinwardly he is weak, is like one of the small, mean people;-yea, is he notlike the thief who breaks through, or climbs over, a wall?"The Master said, "Your good, careful people of the villages are the thievesof virtue."The Master said, To tell, as we go along, what we have heard on the way, isto cast away our virtue."The Master said, "There are those mean creatures! How impossible it isalong with them to serve one's prince!
"While they have not got their aims, their anxiety is how to get them. Whenthey have got them, their anxiety is lest they should lose them.
"When they are anxious lest such things should be lost, there is nothing towhich they will not proceed."The Master said, "Anciently, men had three failings, which now perhaps arenot to be found.
"The high-mindedness of antiquity showed itself in a disregard of smallthings; the high-mindedness of the present day shows itself in wildlicense. The stern dignity of antiquity showed itself in grave reserve; thestern dignity of the present day shows itself in quarrelsome perverseness.
The stupidity of antiquity showed itself in straightforwardness; thestupidity of the present day shows itself in sheer deceit."The Master said, "Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldomassociated with virtue."The Master said, "I hate the manner in which purple takes away the lusterof vermilion. I hate the way in which the songs of Chang confound the musicof the Ya. I hate those who with their sharp mouths overthrow kingdoms andfamilies."The Master said, "I would prefer not speaking."Tsze-kung said, "If you, Master, do not speak, what shall we, yourdisciples, have to record?"The Master said, "Does Heaven speak? The four seasons pursue their courses,and all things are continually being produced, but does Heaven sayanything?"Zu Pei wished to see Confucius, but Confucius declined, on the ground ofbeing sick, to see him. When the bearer of this message went out at thedoor, the Master took his lute and sang to it, in order that Pei might hearhim.
Tsai Wo asked about the three years' mourning for parents, saying that oneyear was long enough.
"If the superior man," said he, "abstains for three years from theobservances of propriety, those observances will be quite lost. If forthree years he abstains from music, music will be ruined. Within a year theold grain is exhausted, and the new grain has sprung up, and, in procuringfire by friction, we go through all the changes of wood for that purpose.
After a complete year, the mourning may stop."The Master said, "If you were, after a year, to eat good rice, and wearembroidered clothes, would you feel at ease?" "I should," replied Wo.
The Master said, "If you can feel at ease, do it. But a superior man,during the whole period of mourning, does not enjoy pleasant food which hemay eat, nor derive pleasure from music which he may hear. He also does notfeel at ease, if he is comfortably lodged. Therefore he does not do whatyou propose. But now you feel at ease and may do it."Tsai Wo then went out, and the Master said, "This shows Yu's want ofvirtue. It is not till a child is three years old that it is allowed toleave the arms of its parents. And the three years' mourning is universallyobserved throughout the empire. Did Yu enjoy the three years' love of hisparents?"The Master said, "Hard is it to deal with who will stuff himself with foodthe whole day, without applying his mind to anything good! Are there notgamesters and chess players? To be one of these would still be better thandoing nothing at all."Tsze-lu said, "Does the superior man esteem valor?" The Master said, "Thesuperior man holds righteousness to be of highest importance. A man in asuperior situation, having valor without righteousness, will be guilty ofinsubordination; one of the lower people having valor withoutrighteousness, will commit robbery."Tsze-kung said, "Has the superior man his hatreds also?" The Master said,"He has his hatreds. He hates those who proclaim the evil of others. Hehates the man who, being in a low station, slanders his superiors. He hatesthose who have valor merely, and are unobservant of propriety. He hatesthose who are forward and determined, and, at the same time, of contractedunderstanding."The Master then inquired, "Ts'ze, have you also your hatreds?" Tsze-kungreplied, "I hate those who pry out matters, and ascribe the knowledge totheir wisdom. I hate those who are only not modest, and think that they arevalorous. I hate those who make known secrets, and think that they arestraightforward."The Master said, "Of all people, girls and servants are the most difficultto behave to. If you are familiar with them, they lose their humility. Ifyou maintain a reserve towards them, they are discontented."The Master said, "When a man at forty is the object of dislike, he willalways continue what he is."